MONROVIA, Feb 15 (Reuters) - The perpetrators of hundreds of thousands of cases of rape, torture and sexual abuse are living unpunished in Liberia more than three years after the end of a civil war, Amnesty International said on Thursday.

The rights group said the government of President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, installed as Africa's first elected female head of state just over a year ago, must do more to bring those responsible to justice if the country was to recover.

"Many women are forced to live near their attackers -- passing them on the streets and in the markets -- fearing that their abusers will never be brought to justice," Amnesty International said in a statement.

The report comes as donors meet in Washington to discuss aid to Liberia to help it rebuild after its 1989-2003 war. The United States pledged to cancel $391 million in outstanding debt on Tuesday and urged others to do the same.

Amnesty said at least 60 percent of the population was estimated to have suffered some form of sexual violence during the conflict, which devastated the once prosperous country's infrastructure and killed more than 200,000 people.

A Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was sworn in a year ago, tasked with investigating human rights abuses during the war, in which armies of drugged child soldiers led by ruthless warlords mutilated and raped as they fought.

While the commission has powers of subpoena and can recommend prosecutions, it does not have a mandate to convict individuals, meaning it can only play a limited part in bringing the perpetrators of war crimes to justice, Amnesty said.

Failure to punish those found to be guilty would prolong the distress of victims and potentially prevent them from seeking reparations, the rights group said.

"The government has made no formal plans for providing reparations to the hundreds of thousands of victims of rape, torture or sexual violence or to children who were forced to enlist in army groups," the statement said.

"As a result, victims have been left to suffer without official acknowledgement of the crimes committed against them or assistance to rebuild their lives."

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